Ukrainian parliament extends martial law by 90 days

STORY: Ukrainian parliament extends martial law by 90 days DATELINE: May 23, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:24 LOCATION: Beijing CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. various of Ukraine 2. various of Russia STORYLINE: According to Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak, the Ukrainian parliament on Sunday approved a bill submitted by President Volodymyr Zelensky to extend the martial law in the country for another 90 days from May 25. Ukraine imposed martial law on Feb. 24 in the wake of the conflict with Russia. The martial law has been extended for 30 days twice. The parliament has also approved the law on the prolongation of general mobilization in the country till Aug. 23. Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said on Sunday that pausing peace talks between Russia and Ukraine is an initiative of the Ukrainian side. According to Medinsky, one month ago, Russian negotiators sent a draft for further negotiations with positions that had been previously agreed upon. After that, Ukraine paused the negotiation p

Russia-Ukraine peace talks resume in online format

STORY: Russia-Ukraine peace talks resume in online format DATELINE: April 2, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:34 LOCATION: Moscow/kiev CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. STANDUP 1 (English): MENG JING, Xinhua correspondent in Moscow 2. STANDUP 2 (English): SHOMODI YURII, Xinhua reporter in Lviv, Ukraine STORYLINE: STANDUP 1 (English): MENG JING, Xinhua correspondent in Moscow "Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are continuing in an online format, the head of Russia's delegation (at talks with Ukraine) Vladimir Medinsky said Friday. 'We are continuing negotiations in a video-conference format. Our positions on Crimea and Donbass remain unchanged,' Medinsky wrote in a Telegram post. Also on Friday, Ukraine's government-run Ukrinform news agency confirmed that Ukraine and Russia have started the next round of peace talks via video, citing a member of the Ukrainian delegation Mykhailo Podolyak. On Thursday, another Ukrainian negotiator, David Arakhamia, said that at the fresh talks, the Ukrainian and Russian delegations w

Russia redeploys troops: Ukraine's security chief

STORY: Russia redeploys troops: Ukraine's security chief DATELINE: March 31, 2022 LENGTH: 0:00:53 LOCATION: Beijing CATEGORY: POLITICS/MILITARY SHOTLIST: 1 various of Russian troops 2 various of the Russian Ministry of Defense 3 various of the latest round of talks in Istanbul STORYLINE: The Ukraine's security chief on Wednesday said Russia is redeploying its troops from Kiev and Chernihiv directions, in the central and northern Ukraine respectively, to Ukraine's eastern regions. Oleksiy Danilov added that Russia's new offensive on Ukrainian forces is also possible in the eastern Lugansk area. On Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry announced that Russia decided to significantly reduce military activity near Kiev and Chernihiv. Vladimir Medinsky, Russian presidential aide and head of Russia's negotiation team, said Wednesday that Ukraine has demonstrated its readiness to negotiate with Russia "for the first time in years." He said that after Tuesday's negotiations in Istanbul, Kiev handed Moscow its prop

Russia says closer to agreement as Ukraine claims unchanged position

STORY: Russia says closer to agreement as Ukraine claims unchanged position DATELINE: March 19, 2022 LENGTH: 0:01:25 LOCATION: Beijing CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1 various of views in Moscow 2 various of Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky 3 various of the second round of peace talks 4 various of Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak's tweet 5 various of the talks between Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov 6 various of Ukrainians STORYLINE: Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, also the head of the Russian delegation in several rounds of talks with Ukraine, said Friday that the two sides have moved closer to agreement on the key issue of Ukraine dropping attempts to join NATO and adopting a neutral status. According to Russian media reports, he said that the two sides are now "halfway" on issues regarding the demilitarization of Ukraine, though their positions on the management of Donbass still differ. Ukrainian Presidential Adv

Latest on Russia-Ukraine conflict: peace talks continue daily

STORY: Latest on Russia-Ukraine conflict: peace talks continue daily DATELINE: March 15, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:49 LOCATION: Moscow CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. STANDUP (English): MENG JING, Xinhua correspondent in Eurasia Bureau STORYLINE: STANDUP (English): MENG JING, Xinhua correspondent "The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues on Tuesday as relevant parties are working to broker a peaceful solution. Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are being held daily. That's according to Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, also the head of the Russian delegation on Monday. Medinsky said the negotiations are being held seven days a week, in a format of video conferences. The fourth round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine occurred earlier on Monday via video link. According to Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, a member of the delegation, a technical pause has been taken in the negotiations until Tuesday. Podolyak has also said that the Ukrainian delegation is seeking a ceasefi

Ukraine crisis: latest Russia-Ukraine talks end with no significant results

STORY: Ukraine crisis: latest Russia-Ukraine talks end with no significant results DATELINE: March 8, 2022 LENGTH: 00:02:19 LOCATION: Kiev/Moscow CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. STANDUP 1 (English): ZHANG JIYE, Xinhua correspondent 2. STANDUP 2 (English): CHEN QIANG, Xinhua correspondent 3. STANDUP 3 (English): REN KE, Xinhua correspondent STORYLINE: STANDUP 1 (English): ZHANG JIYE, Xinhua correspondent "The third round of peace talks between Russia and Ukraine failed to achieve significant results. The talks took place Monday in Belarus. According to Russian presidential aide and the head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky, 'the discussions continued on political and military aspects. However, it remains difficult.' Russian negotiators brought a large set of documents, including specific agreements, while the Ukrainian side could not sign them on the spot and took all these documents back home for study. Both sides addressed the issue of civilian evacuation. The Ukrainian side assured Russia that

Next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks to be held on Belarusian-Polish border -- head of Russian delegation

STORY: Next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks to be held on Belarusian-Polish border -- head of Russian delegation DATELINE: March 1, 2022 LENGTH: 00:00:50 LOCATION: Moscow CATEGORY: POLITICS SHOTLIST: 1. SOUNDBITE (Russian): VLADIMIR MEDINSKY, Head of the Russian delegation STORYLINE: The next round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks will take place on the Belarusian-Polish border in the coming days, according to Vladimir Medinsky, head of the Russian delegation at the talks held in Belarus, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported Monday. SOUNDBITE (Russian): VLADIMIR MEDINSKY, Head of the Russian delegation "The negotiations with the Ukrainian side, which lasted about five hours, have just ended. During this time, we went through all the items on the agenda in detail and found some points on which common ground could be predicted. And most importantly, we have agreed to continue the negotiation process. The next meeting will be held in the coming days on the Polish-Belarusian border. There are relevant p